Speech by Minister Lim Hng Kiang at the launch of the Singapore Food Gifts Initiative at Taste Singapore

SPEECH BY MR LIM HNG KIANG, MINISTER FOR TRADE AND INDUSTRY (TRADE) AT THE LAUNCH OF THE SINGAPORE FOOD GIFTS INITIATIVE AT TASTE SINGAPORE, CHANGI AIRPORT TERMINAL 4, ON 18 NOVEMBER 2017, 11.30AM

Mr Thomas Pek, President, Singapore Food Manufacturers’ Association;

Mr Paul Loo, Group CEO, Focus Network Agencies;

Industry representatives and colleagues;

Good morning.

1.         I am pleased to join you at the launch of the Singapore Food Gifts initiative by the Singapore Food Manufacturers’ Association (or SFMA) and Focus Network Agencies (or FNA). 

Singapore food is a reflection of our heritage

2.         For visitors to Singapore, the Singapore experience would not be complete without savouring our local delights such as chilli crab, chicken rice, beef rendang or roti prata. Singapore’s diverse range of food is an expression of our identity, rich heritage and colourful culture. Most of the dishes have evolved as a fusion of our multi-ethnic past, flavoured by global influences from our historical trading partners.

3.         Local food is also one of the top things that Singaporeans miss when we are overseas. For many of us who are short on either time or cooking skills, comfort food like laksa and prawn noodle are not easily prepared from scratch. Fortunately, local food manufacturers have come up with ready-to-cook pastes and sauces, making it easy to prepare these dishes at home. The stringent processes that our food manufacturers adopt ensure the freshness and quality of their products. 

4.         Our food manufacturers have also creatively incorporated some of these heritage flavours into snacks. These include laksa-flavoured cookies, belachan salsa dips, and even Singapore Sling-flavoured rock sugar sticks. I am pleased to note that many of these food products have now been packaged into gifts that are unique and ambrosial. This means that the flavours of Singapore’s heritage can be enjoyed anywhere in the world – for example, by tourists who want to bring a delicious reminder of Singapore home to share with their friends and family, or by Singaporeans wanting to make an impression when flying overseas to meet with friends or clients.

Opening doors to new markets and opportunities

5.         Food gifts are a  serious business. Globally, sales of food gifts are expected to grow from S$75 billion in 2015 to S$96 billion by 2020. In Singapore, confectionery, souvenirs and gifts are popular among tourists, accounting for between 8 to 11% of their total shopping expenditure. We expect a similar rise in sales of food gifts as our international visitor arrivals grow. Given this positive outlook, Singapore food manufacturers are well-positioned to continually improve their offerings and create new products for the Singapore and overseas markets. 

6.         I am therefore heartened by the collaboration between SFMA and FNA to introduce food gift aisles in Taste Singapore stores at Terminal 1 and Terminal 4 of Changi Airport. The Singapore Food Gifts initiative will feature, as a start, our strong heritage flavours and brands from over 10 companies with up to 20 different products. Some examples include Polar Puff’s Laksa Cookies, Four Seasons Durians’ Durian Candy and Shermay’s Nonya Curry Powder. As the window to the world, Changi Airport is a coveted location for our retailers. Just last year, Changi welcomed 58.7 million passengers. With over 7,000 flights per week to more than 380 cities in 90 countries today, it is the ideal stage to showcase our food gifts to the international market. Conversely, these products will also give the airport new, unique and varied products to excite shoppers and enhance their travel experience. 

7.         To offer a seamless offline to online (or O2O) experience, products featured in-store at FNA will be available online at ishop Changi. This will promote greater brand awareness and exposure and allow time-constrained passengers to purchase their food gifts conveniently, anytime, anywhere. With FNA’s presence in 24 countries, I hope there could be more  partnerships to enable Singapore companies to reach new markets.

Partnerships driving opportunities 

8.         Today’s launch is yet another milestone in helping our local food manufacturers to internationalise and grow their global footprint. This is in line with the strategies under our Food Manufacturing Industry Transformation Map, which calls for more globally competitive food companies.

9.         Just as it takes a village to raise a child, it takes strong partnerships with many stakeholders to grow and groom our food manufacturing sector. Our industry partners and Government agencies have been working hard to identify and seize opportunities together. For example, to encourage the innovation of food gift products to keep up with changing consumer trends, SFMA and SPRING organised a kick-off workshop in July 2017 for more than 20 food manufacturers in the lead-up to this launch. The workshop gave participants a better understanding of the food gift landscape and how they could leverage consumer insights to help them with packaging and package design. What you see on this product showcase next to me, are the fruits of their labour. SPRING will continue to support food companies in strengthening their product innovation, design and brand communication capabilities, while IE Singapore will continue to leverage on its established international networks to help our food companies can tap this market effectively. This support will strengthen and become more holistic with the merger of SPRING and IE to form Enterprise Singapore next year.

10.      Good products must be complemented by good marketing. I understand that SFMA has been working with various partners, including the Singapore Tourism Board, to provide strong marketing support ranging from social media publicity to targeted in-market promotional campaigns in China, Indonesia and Japan. The Restaurant Association of Singapore and the Singapore Hotel Association have also helped to further the outreach to increase awareness and promote participation for this initiative.   

11.      I would also like to acknowledge the support from the Future Economy Council Lifestyle Cluster Sub-committee, co-led by SMS Sim Ann and Mr Vincent Tan (Managing Director, Select Group). The combined efforts by the industry, trade associations and the government have been, and will continue to be key to helping our food manufacturers leverage new channels and establish their presence in the global arena.

Conclusion

12.      On this note, let me once again congratulate SFMA and FNA on the launch of Singapore Food Gifts at Taste Singapore. I wish you every success.

13.      Thank you.

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